Inclusive city decision far from transparent

Quite opposite to The South Whidbey Record’s front page headline on Nov. 25, “In surprise 3-0 vote, Langley becomes an inclusive city,” in reality at the Nov. 20 Langley City Council meeting Bruce Allen and Mayor Tim Callison continued their year-long relentless campaign against the wishes of the majority of Langley voters, their out-of-the-public-eye maneuvering and their disdain and disregard for the most vulnerable members of our community.

Whose ordinance is this? It’s far from the one the Inclusive Langley group proposed. It is a severely butchered document that does not provide any real legal protections from those it purports to protect. It belongs to Allen, Callison, City Attorney Mike Kenyon and perhaps Police Chief David Marks, all staunch opponents of a truly inclusive ordinance. The meaningless ordinance even took two council members, Shoudy and Emerson, off-guard, as well as being completely secret from the public.

You call this democratic? The Inclusive Langley group championed over seven months a robust democratic process to engage hundreds of Langley citizens in discussion about the pros and cons of an inclusive ordinance.

This shameful outrageous farce is, sadly, really not a surprise at all to intelligent Langley citizens. Rather, it is more of the same, precisely confirming why the voters of Langley overwhelmingly elected three progressive council members — Christy Korrow, Peter Morton and Dominique Emerson in the recent election.

As we move into 2018, I hope to see a truly democratic and transparent governing process supportive of real inclusiveness and protection for all citizens, residents and visitors.